Some say it is time to concede the coup and protesters like yourself should join with the new administration to rebuild democracy.

We have been successful in refusing to accept the coup as a right. More people will take this stance. It is clear coups are not the solution. The reason the junta is still in power is simply because they have weapons.

Some people have accused your group of being extremists or democratic fundamentalists.

I don't think I am an extremist but I stand for universal principles. If someone says the universal principle [of democracy] is extreme, then I would be surprised. The 1997 Constitution was democratic. Also, I wonder where these people stand?

Had you ever thought of becoming a protest leader?

I had never thought of it. My only thinking after the coup was that many of the so-called democratic forces would take to the streets. I was very surprised when they didn't. What's more, they sarcastically attack us. I'm just doing what I can.

Will there be more coups?

I believe so because this coup revived the coup mentality which was already dead. Now it's alive again. Secondly, there's an attempt to legitimise the coup and attempt to use the mass media to portray the coup as soft, democratic, permissible and an exception.

If any group wants to stage a coup in the future it simply needs to create the pre-conditions for a coup. No real reconciliation was brought about by the coup. In fact, it has brought more conflict. This has just been suppressed. In fact, it led to a new round of nepotism by the Council of National Security (CNS) and the military command has been realigned. There may be another coup staged by a faction within the CNS.

Some say coups are part of Thai-style democracy.

There may be something which is called Thai-style democracy but staging a coup is not part of it. This is not Thai-style democracy. It's a Thai-style coup.

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation